Aerial observer&#39;s windshield



R. T. VREDENBURGH.

AERIAL OBSERVER'S WINDSHIELD.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, I918,

w B M D N m P mm M h Wm j d r V 6 T M a W 0 R g 0 R. T. VREDENBURGH.

AERIAL OBSERVERS WINDSHIELD.

APPIICATION FILED JUNE 21 I918 1,352,106. I PatentedSept. 7,1920.

HEETS-SHEET 2.

Raymond yfdelfbur gb.

. used for UNITED STATES RAYMOND '1. VREDENBURGH, OE BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

AERIAL OBSERVERS WINDSI-IIELD.

Application filed June 21, 1918.

(FILED UNDER THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1883,

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND T. VREDEN- BURGH, a citizen of the United States, resident of Brookline,.in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, and now 2nd lieut. Signal Reserve Corps, Aviation Section, assigned to duty at Ft. Omaha, Ne braska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aerial Observers lVindshields, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to aeronautics, and particularly to accessories for the cars or baskets of captive balloons, such as are purposes of military observation. Thegeneral object of my invention is to provide for the use of aerial observers efficient means of protection from wind while in the car or basket of a captive balloon, said protectingmeans or windshield being so constructed and arranged that it will not project into the basket nor extend into the normal line of sight of the obsever. A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the foregoing character which may be quickly detached from the basket when not in use, or which may be instantly released .and automatically dropped from the basket in emergencies, as for reducing ballast, or soas not to interfere with the use of parachutes when the same are employed for emergent descent from the balloon. A further object of my invention is to provide a device of this kind which may be folded to occupy a small storage space, and having a minimum liability to breakage, while being of relatively light weight.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a perspective view of a balloon basket equipped with a windshield embodying my invention, Fig. 2 is a partial front view of the windshield, Fig. 3 is a side view thereof, a portion of the basket being in section, and Fig. 4: is a detail front view of one of the releasable attaching devices;

It will be understood that the captive balloons now generally employed for mili tary observation are of the Caquot type, being so constructed and stabilized as to constantly point or head into the wind, and that the basket of the balloon is suspended in a substantially fixed relation to the balloon body, so that the basket has a front side which is always to the windward.

In the illustrated structure the balloon Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 7, 1920. Serial No. 241,249.

22 STAT. L, 625.)

basket A is provided at its front side, immediately beneath the rim B, trai'isversely extending strip 5 of wood, which is permanently secured to the basket by suitable means, such as bolts 6 extending through the basket-wall and through hardwood blocks 7 disposed on the inner side of the basket beneath the padding C. A similar transverse wood strip 8 is permanently secured to the basket, parallel with the upper strip 5 and intermediate said upper strip and the bottom of the basket, said lower strip being secured to the basket body by bolts 9 extending through the basketwall and through blocks 10 on the inner side thereof, indicated in Fig. 3 and by dotted lines in Fig. 2. Near each end of the strip 8 two of the bolts 9 are employed for securing upon the face of the strip a metal plate 11 having a pair of forwardly extending lugs 12 integral therewith. A pin 13 extends transversely between each pair of the lugs 12, and said lugs and pins form seats for the lower ends of the shield-supporting brackets. Said brackets are of metal, preferably aluminum or an alloy thereof so as to be of minimum weight, and are approximately triangular in side elevation, there being a central, vertically extending, perforate web 1 f having transversely extending flanges 15 at each edge thereof, and enlarged or thickened headportions 16, 17 and 18 at the corners of the triangular body. The lower head-portion 16 of each bracket is adapted to fit slidably between the lugs 12 and has a transverse slot extending vertically from the lower edge thereof, adapting the same to straddle the pin l3. The upper front head-portion 17 of each bracket is substantially cylindrical, axially horizontal, and provided with an opening to receive the trunnion of the windshield proper. The upper rear head-portions 18 each have a pair of upwardly projecting laterally spaced fingers 19 forming between them a slot or space extending in the plane of the web 14.

For each bracket there is an attachingbolt 20 which extends through the strip 5 and block 7, said bolt having at its front end a cottered nut 21, and having a cylindrical sleeve -22 disposed thereon adjoining the face of the strip 5. Between said nut 21 and the front end of the sleeve 22, a lockinglever is pivoted on the bolt, said lockingwith an upper lower heads 16 may be lever having a body-portion 23 of which the width is slightly less than that of the slot between the fingers 19, and a handle-portion 2st extending from one end of the body-portion. The sleeve 22 is of such diameter as to pass freely through the slot between the fingers 19. On the front side of each of the fingers 19 there is a spring 25 of which the upper end is secured to the finger by a screw 26, while the lower enc is slotted to receive a guide-screw 27. The intermediate portions of said springs 25 are bowed forwardly, but have concave or rearwardly bowed portions at the center adapted to receive the rounded rear sideof the locking-lever body 23 when the same is turned to the horizontal position shown in Fig. l. At said horizontal position of the'locking-levers the same are thus yieldingly retained in place by the springs 25, and the levers hold the heads 18 of the brackets firmly against the face of the strip 5, so that the brackets are securely attached to the basket- \Vhen the locking-levers are turned to the vertical positions shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the upper portions of the brackets are permitted to swing forwardly away'from the basket, and after the heads 18 have cleared the attaching-bolts 20- the lifted out of their seats, or if the brackets are permitted to swing down freely the heads 16 will become detached automatically, the brackets and parts supported thereby falling away from the basket. The brackets are connected to each other by an inclined deflector-board 28 of which the ends are secured to the flanges 15 at the upper edges of the bracket-bodies between the heads 1? and 1S. Near its rearor lower edge the ends of the board 28. are notched so as to extend between the heads 18 and below the lower edge of the strip 5, as shown in Fig. 3.

The windshield proper has a metal frame formed by'tubular rods 29, 30 and 31, suite ably connected to each other as indicated in Fig. 2. At the lower corners of the frame there are T-blocks 32 to which are secured the ends of the horizontal bottom-rod 29, and also the ends of the rod 30, the latter extending upwardly at right angles tothe bottom-rod, and the intermediate portion of said rod 30 extending horizontally parallel with the bottom-rod. The rod 31 extends in a vertical plane and connects the central portions of the rods 29 and 30. The T- blocks 32 are formed integrally with circular plates 33 which fit against the inner sides of the bracket-heads 17, and with trunnions which fit pivotally in the openings through said heads. The outer ends of the trunnions have threaded openings to receive thumbscrews 3 1, and clamp-washers 35 are disposed between the heads of said screws and the outer sides of the bracket-heads By tightening down the thumb-screws 34 the I tive position after the same has been shield-frame may be held at adjusted positions relative to the brackets, but to insure the placingof the shield at the proper operamoved therefrom, stop-pins 36 are provided, said pins being carried by lugs 37 formed integrally with the bracket-heads 17, and the pins extending in behind the lower side-portions of the shield-frame.

The wind-deflecting body of the shield is preferably formed by a sheet or sheets 38 of flexible transparent material such as celluloid, the edges of which are bound with doubled strips 39 of suitable fabric sewed thereto and forming loops which pass around the frame-rods 29, 30 and 31, said binding thus forming the means for attaching the transparent material to the frame.

T he shield is preferably so proportioned that when it 's in its normal OPQTEttlYE posi tion the upper edge thereof is directly above the rim of the basket A, and a height such that observer standing in the basket may look over the top of the shield, rather than through the transparent portion thereof. The shield may be continuously curvilinear as represented in Fig. 1, or with the main body thereof plane-surfaced and rearwardly inclined, but with a short vertical portion adjoining the upper edge, as shown in Fig. 3. lVith the latter form of the shield the best results appear to be attained when the inclined portion is at an angle of about thirty-five degrees from the vertical, and the height of the vertical portion about four inches. Air currents striking the in clined or curvilinear shield are deflected upwardly thereby, and after passing the upper edge of the shield the deflected current continues upwardly more or less until it is again turned: horizontally by that part of the air current which is moving initially in planes above the upper edge of the shield. The course of a part of the deflected air current is indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, from which it will be seen that, although the head of the observer may extend sufficiently above the upper edge of the shield to bring the normal line of vision above the shield, the deflection of the air currents due to the shield is such that the observer is adequately protected therefrom. Tests of the windshield have shown that the rise of the air currents above the top thereof are such that the shield might even be made of opaque material without materially interfer ing with observations. It is preferable, however, that the main body of the shield should be of transparent material, and that the uppermost portion of the shield be vertical as shown in Fig. 3, so that the line of sight will be substantially at right angles to the portion of the transparent sheet through which observation is most likely to be made, if at all. It also appears, from tests made thereof, that the vertical upper portion of the shield contributes essentially to the upward deflection of air currents which enables observations to be made 'over the top of the shield, without said air currents striking the observer. The use of the shield not only contributes to the comfort and efficiency of the aerial observer, but greatly facilitates telephonic communication with the ground, by eliminating humming and whistling sounds produced by the wind when the observer and his instruments are exposed thereto. When the shield is not in use, as when removed from the basket, or when the wind velocity is such that the shield is not needed, the thumb-screws 34 may be loosened and the shield swung for ward and downward into a position between the front edges of the supporting brackets, and in such position of the shield the en tire device will occupy a minimum space. Should it be desired at any time to quickly release and disengage the windshield from the balloon basket, it is merely necessary for the observer to turn the handles 24 to vertical position, upon which the upper portions of the brackets will swing forwardly and downwardly, and after the bodies of the brackets have passed below the plane of the seats for the lower heads 16 the latter will slip out of the seats and automatically complete the detachment of the shield from the baske the structure is of especial importance in emergencies such as would require the clescent of the observer by parachute, in order This nick-releasin feature of that the windshield may not interfere in any way with the use of the parachute from any side of the basket.

New, having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination with a balloon basket, of a wind-deflecting member disposed eX- ternally thereof and extending above the rim thereof, brackets secured upon the outside of the basket and extending outwardly therefrom and supporting said wind-deflecting member, and means for connecting the brackets and basket, said means being movable to release positions for enabling gravital descent and separation of the brackets from the basket.

2. The combination with a balloon basket, of a wind-deflecting member disposed externally thereof and extending above the rim thereof, brackets secured upon the outside of the basket and extending outwardly therefrom and supporting said wind-deflecting member, said brackets having lower transversely slotted portions and upper lon gitudinally slotted portions, seating mem bers secured to the basket and adapted to receive the transversely slotted portions of the brackets, attaching bolts secured to the basket and adapted to extend through the upper slotted portions of the brackets, and locking levers mounted on said attaching bolts and proportioned so as to be movable through said upper slotted bracket-portions when at determined positions.

RAYMON D T. VREDENBURGH. 

